Typically, an exchange is a central marketplace with established rules and regulations where buyers and sellers meet to trade. Some exchanges, referred to as open outcry exchanges, operate using a trading floor where buyers and sellers physically meet on the floor to trade. Other exchanges, referred to as electronic exchanges, operate by an electronic or telecommunications network instead of a trading floor to facilitate trading in an efficient, versatile, and functionally rich way.
An electronic exchange generally sends messages to traders over a communication link. The data, in its raw form, sometimes includes things like an opening price, the price of the last trade, the quantity of the last trade, quantity available at the best sell price, quantity available at the best buy price, quantity available at additional buy and sell prices, and the closing price. Of course, an electronic exchange might include more or fewer items, often depending on the type of tradable object or the type of exchange. Typically, the messages vary in size depending on the content carried by them, but at the receiving end, software is programmed to understand the messages and act out certain operations.
One particular, yet important, operation is preparing the information for display to the trader. The trading screen may be the only direct connection a trader has with the internal workings of an exchange. Until recently, however, market data was simply displayed on a trading screen in a manner similar to how it was received from the exchange without much customization or formatting. Because of the simplicity, the screens could be updated very quickly for a large number of tradable objects, but at the expense of a non-intuitive design.
Now, developers are beginning to create sophisticated trading screens that provide a better adaptation to the screens intended use. For instance, according to one particular aspect, more attention has been given to analyzing what makes an effective trading screen, thereby resulting in the design of more intuitive displays and quickier order entry systems. Depending on the actual formatting and layout, however, some trading screens are more successful than others in conveying market information to the traders.
To develop an effective and intuitive screen, the developer should have an understanding and an appreciation for those who trade. More times than not, spotting an opportunity in a market and capitalizing on it before the competition can separate those traders who are successful from those traders who are not. An important component in capitalizing on an opportunity involves the efficient assimilation and processing of market information by the trader, in addition to reacting more quickly than other competing market participants.
In the following detailed description, novel features of a trading screen are described. These features provide advantages, as described below, to a trader in an electronic trading environment.